WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama plans to appoint senior administration officials  rather than a single "car czar," as had been discussed  to oversee a restructuring of the auto industry.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers will oversee the across-the-government panel, a senior administration official said Sunday on the condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made.

"The president understands the importance of this issue and also understands that the auto industry affects and is affected by a broad range of economic policies," the official said.
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As the teams move forward, Obama "wants to make sure that we're getting the expertise and input of agencies across the government," the official said.

Obama and his aides face difficult choices on the fate of the U.S. auto industry, weighing the cost of pouring billions more into struggling companies against possible bankruptcies that could undermine plans to jump-start the economy.

General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC are racing against a Tuesday deadline to submit plans to the government. The plans are to be followed by weeks of intense negotiations ahead of a March 31 deadline for the final versions of the reports.

GM on life support
GM and Chrysler are living off a combined $13.4 billion in government loans. If they don't receive concessions by March 31, they face the prospect of having the loans pulled, followed by bankruptcy proceedings.

Any bankruptcy would be particularly painful, with some economists predicting the country could lose 2 million to 3 million jobs this year and the unemployment rate, now 7.6 percent, could swell past 9 percent by the spring of 2010.

In television interviews Sunday, White House senior adviser David Axelrod didn't respond directly when asked if the U.S. economy could withstand a GM bankruptcy. Nor did he directly address a question about whether the Obama administration would let GM go into bankruptcy.

"I'm not going to prejudge anything. I think that there is going to have to be a restructuring of those companies. I'm not going to get into the mode of how that happens. We'll wait and see what they have to say on Tuesday," he told "Fox News Sunday."

Executives at the two automakers have said bankruptcy is not an option because consumers would not buy cars from a company that might go out of business.

"How that restructuring comes is something that has to be determined," Axelrod said. "But it's going to be something that's going to require sacrifice not just from the auto workers but also from creditors, from shareholders and the executives who run the company. And everyone's going to have to get together here to build companies that can compete in the future."

Enter the President's Task Force on Autos. That group will use officials from the departments of Treasury, Labor, Transportation, Commerce and Energy. Members of the National Economic Council, the White House Office of Energy and Environment, the Council of Economic Advisers and the Environmental Protection Agency will also be involved, according to the administration official.

Obama also plans to name restructuring expert Ron Bloom a senior adviser to Geithner. He will not be the "car czar" pointman many labor and business leaders expected. Bloom, a former consultant to the United Steelworkers of America, will be doing much of the financial analysis for the administration.

Geithner is expected to be the only Cabinet secretary to be part of the panel, the senior administration official said. Deputy secretaries, however, would be involved.

Obama "felt it was important to have the treasury secretary as his official designee to oversee these loans," the senior administration official said.

Little progress
The terms of the federal loans set "targets" for concessions, largely from debt-holders and the United Auto Workers union, but concession talks have made little progress with just a couple days left before the initial deadline.

Negotiations between GM and the UAW broke off Friday night but resumed Sunday, still focusing on exchanging the company's cash payments into a union-run retiree health care trust for GM stock, according to a person briefed on the talks who didn't want to be identified because the bargaining is private.

GM and UAW officials declined comment.

GM and Chrysler don't need to have everything nailed down for Tuesday's progress reports, but the companies are expected to detail concessions along with plant closures, the potential elimination of brands and thousands of job cuts.

Axelrod wouldn't say whether the administration would offer the auto industry more bailout money. GM already has borrowed $9.4 billion to stay in business, and it would receive an addition $4 billion if the Treasury Department approves its viability plan. Chrysler wants $3 billion more on top of the $4 billion it has already borrowed.

"We need to see what it is that they come up with this week," Axelrod said.

This is where socialistic control over the auto industry increases even more. The more money GM and the other auto companies accept with pre-conditions, the more control the Government and so called non auto industry experts will have..

Wow Blur,
I have already emailed all my reps both congress and senate on 5 out of 6 of the things on your list. The only one I missed was the better training one. But that is a very good list for people to demand action on. So come on people demand action from your elected officials.

Add better drivers training and more restrictive licensing requirements to go along with the higher speed limits.

Are those angels singing and harps strumming I hear?

This isn't a necessarily bad thing...if you ignore that the entire situation is bad to begin with. I admire the wise decision of appointing a TEAM of people as opposed to (as Blur said) one fool to oversee the restructuring. I can't wait to see the automaker's reports...I feel it'll be good...but the whole issue just makes me nervous. :(

Some good news in there. The government ought to start taking into serious consideration having thier own personal talk with the UAW though. I just don't see why Congress feels the need to hang bankruptcy over the heads of the auto industry, as if they really believe our economy could survive any of them going bankrupt. Well, I'll probably be unemployed soon.

People please, buy American. The job you save could be mine.

__________________

If you believe it is your right to speak freely no matter the content, relevance, or intelligence of statement, then it is my duty to the powers that be to set you straight.

People have to talk about something just to keep their voice boxes in working order. So they'll have good voice boxes in case there's ever anything really meaningful to say.
Kurt Vonnegut

I just had a thought. Somebody mark my words here. I beleive I will copy and paste this in my own records.

Due to the seemingly apparent eventual nationalization of the auto indusrty (among other things) we will see different car prices for different vehicles in the future. High end cars will be even higher priced. And the rest will not have a price per se' but it will depend on your income and or tax bracket. If you make in exess of 100k You'll pay x for a Cobalt. If you make less than 40k you'll pay m for a Cobalt.

I just had a thought. Somebody mark my words here. I beleive I will copy and paste this in my own records.

Due to the seemingly apparent eventual nationalization of the auto indusrty (among other things) we will see different car prices for different vehicles in the future. High end cars will be even higher priced. And the rest will not have a price per se' but it will depend on your income and or tax bracket. If you make in exess of 100k You'll pay x for a Cobalt. If you make less than 40k you'll pay m for a Cobalt.

What do ya say DGthe3? Am I just being paranoid?
I certainly hope so.

Well, it certainly may get that way in the form of variable taxes based on total income for buying the same car or any product for that matter. Let's hope it never gets like that however with Obama as President and Pelosi as Speaker of the House, it could very well be voted into office hidden inside another porkulus bill.. I agree with you that if the nationalization of the American auto industry occurs, we will be paying a fortune for cars like the Camaro in the form of much higher gas guzzling taxes, or something else as much higher MSRP off the bat for being un-eco-friendly.. It is ridiculous that people nowadays especially the college kids are so ignorant about giving up their freedoms for more Government control of everything.. Since when did questioning government actions become something not taught in schools after World war II? Oh yeah, since Obama started his campaign and all the teachers and media drooled over him...as a teacher myself, I haven't seen one ounce of help that was promised to the education system so far.

Well, it certainly may get that way in the form of variable taxes based on total income for buying the same car or any product for that matter. Let's hope it never gets like that however with Obama as President and Pelosi as Speaker of the House, it could very well be voted into office hidden inside another porkulus bill.. I agree with you that if the nationalization of the American auto industry occurs, we will be paying a fortune for cars like the Camaro in the form of much higher gas guzzling taxes, or something else as much higher MSRP off the bat for being un-eco-friendly.. It is ridiculous that people nowadays especially the college kids are so ignorant about giving up their freedoms for more Government control of everything.. Since when did questioning government actions become something not taught in schools after World war II? Oh yeah, since Obama started his campaign and all the teachers and media drooled over him...as a teacher myself, I haven't seen one ounce of help that was promised to the education system so far.

Well, in the words of Norman Thomas, Socialist Party Presidentail Candidate in his 1944 consesion speach "The American people will never knowingly adopt socialism. But, under the name of "liberalism," they will adopt every fragment of the socialist program, until one day America will be a socialist nation, without knowing how it happened." He went on to say: "I no longer need to run as a Presidential Candidate for the Socialist Party.The Democrat Party has adopted our platform."

Don't worry, Give Obama some time, as long as you teach what they tell you, he'll get more school funding.

The success of this committee (like every other committee) will depend on the ratio of vocal smart people to vocal idiots. These people are the ones who will sway the quiet members and the yes-men.

Quote:

Originally Posted by irpq11

I just had a thought. Somebody mark my words here. I beleive I will copy and paste this in my own records.

Due to the seemingly apparent eventual nationalization of the auto indusrty (among other things) we will see different car prices for different vehicles in the future. High end cars will be even higher priced. And the rest will not have a price per se' but it will depend on your income and or tax bracket. If you make in exess of 100k You'll pay x for a Cobalt. If you make less than 40k you'll pay m for a Cobalt.

What do ya say DGthe3? Am I just being paranoid?
I certainly hope so.

Yes . . . but are you paranoid enough?

__________________

Note, if I've gotten any facts wrong in the above, just ignore any points I made with them
__________________
Originally Posted by FbodFather

My sister's dentist's brother's cousin's housekeeper's dog-breeder's nephew sells coffee filters to the company that provides coffee to General Motors......

As for the car industry, there are dark times ahead and people that work for GM will be able to do little about the eventual nationalism of the auto industry since the alternative if they can't meet the new Government CAFE standards would be that GM would have to scrap the Camaro rear wheel drive platform altogether and the overall final price of a new corvette's would be priced higher than it is now..The dealers would be taken over by the Government and perhaps be regulated or handled in a CarMax like fashion. I'm sure dealerships will love that..No more markups because the price would be fixed. Some people would like that however the Government would make the smaller more fuel efficient vehicles the affordable ones while the muscle cars would become extinct.. We shall see what happens, I for one hope I am wrong about this and somehow capitalism continues to be the ideology American auto industry follows..But my hopes are dimming the more and more bailouts with pre-conditions keep getting handed out..

As for the car industry, there are dark times ahead and people that work for GM will be able to do little about the eventual nationalism of the auto industry since the alternative if they can't meet the new Government CAFE standards would be that GM would have to scrap the Camaro rear wheel drive platform altogether and the overall final price of a new corvette's would be priced higher than it is now..The dealers would be taken over by the Government and perhaps be regulated or handled in a CarMax like fashion. I'm sure dealerships will love that..No more markups because the price would be fixed. Some people would like that however the Government would make the smaller more fuel efficient vehicles the affordable ones while the muscle cars would become extinct.. We shall see what happens, I for one hope I am wrong about this and somehow capitalism continues to be the ideology American auto industry follows..But my hopes are dimming the more and more bailouts with pre-conditions keep getting handed out..

The US can't nationalize the auto industry. It's too big and would seriously hurt its ability to compete. Obama prioritizes the auto industry, and he isn't as stupid as the people we're used to having run our country. That being said, he isn't an automotive expert, and that is why constituent feedback is important. We need to be harassing the White House with comments until we get what we want on the agenda.

The US can't nationalize the auto industry. It's too big and would seriously hurt its ability to compete. Obama prioritizes the auto industry, and he isn't as stupid as the people we're used to having run our country. That being said, he isn't an automotive expert, and that is why constituent feedback is important. We need to be harassing the White House with comments until we get what we want on the agenda.

It's a democracy. Act like you live in one or someday you won't.

Are you guys calling the White House (202 456 1111)? Do it again now!

Obama isn't as stupid as who now? He urged the Congress to pass the stimulus package on Friday when nobody could even read the thing that quickly and then he goes on a vacation and will sign it on Tuesday?? I know the mainstream media will never report this but at least people like me spread the truth of what is happening on these forums and Blur is correct in that we all need to be more active and call our government, even if it seems it does absolutely nothing most of the time..